The first bone of the spine is located near the level of the ear, and the seventh is located at the base of the neck. If you have proper medical documentation, you may qualify for cervicalgia disability benefits. To receive benefits for neck pain, you must have a spinal nerve root compression or spinal arachnoiditis. These two conditions can be the result of a variety of incidents.
Here are six of the most common causes of severe neck pain that may qualify for benefits. While it would be ideal for everyone struggling with cervical radiculopathy to receive SSDI benefits, that is unfortunately not the case. Once you have received a diagnosis, you must go through a process to prove your eligibility for disability benefits. After you apply for Social Security disability, your case is evaluated in the five-step sequential evaluation process.
In Step 3, SSA may evaluate your cervical problems in Schedule 1.015, Skeletal Spine Disorders that Result in Nerve Root Compromise. This list requires pain, paresthesia or muscle fatigue AND neurological signs on physical examination (i.e. muscle weakness, signs of nerve root involvement) AND objective tests demonstrating nerve root involvement (CT, MRI or X-ray) AND the need for bilateral assistive devices OR the inability to use one of the upper limbs while the other limb needs to be used for the assistive device. These conditions include cervical cancer, ankylosing spondylitis, cervicalgia, spinal stenosis, and others.
